Package handling and binding apparatus



May 24,1932. v. TENUTA ,1,859,375

PACKAGE HANDLING AND BINDNG APPARATUS May 24, 1932.

V. TENUTA PACKAGE HANDLING AND BINDING APPARATUS Filed sept. 14. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 24, 1932 UNiE ATEN

PACKAGE HANDLING AND BINDING APPARATUS Application filed September My invention pertains to an apparatus designed for supporting and manipulating packages, and a banding or tying machine during the process of applying a band or bands to such packages.

My invention has no direct relation to the structure of the tying machine proper, eX- cept that it contemplates the use of a machine of asmall portable and hand operable type. It consists of means for supporting and manipulating the packages, sothat the application of bands by the use of machines vof this type is facilitated, and to the devices used to support and position such band applying machines in proper relation to the packages. l

The object of my invention is to make easy the work of using such banding or tying machines, to contribute to the convenience of the operator, and, thereby speed up the work. This is accomplished bythe use of a mechanism such as is shown in the accompanying drawings, or its equivalent.

Figure l is a side elevation of the device, this being largely in section.

Figure 2 is a similar view of the principal package handling parts, these being in different positions from that of Fig. l.

Figures 3 and 4 are sectional elevations showing the turn-table and its operating mechanisms in closely successive and differing positions. n

Figure 5 is a front elevation showing the relative position of the band securing inachine to the package when in use, and the means used for supporting and handling it.

My invention consists in a package supporting and manipulating means, embodied in a stand, and means mounted upon the same f stand for supporting and shiftingv a wire binding and tying machine, by the use of which the application of bands to packages may be more rapidly and easily done.V

In connection with the parts which directly comprise'my invention, I have illustrated a well known type of band or wire applying machine, A, the same being intended for hand operation. Specific description of this will not be given, as the specific construction of this bears no relation to what 4, 1928. Serial No. 303,933.

is my real invention. Its place in they present invention is only. that of an organized body of a particular type, and any machine of this type may be used. This type of machine is Well known. y

T have illustrated my invention `as employed in applying a band to boxes, and will so describe it, although it is quite evident that packages other than boxes may be banded by its use.

My invention comprises as principal parts, a turn-table upon which the package is supported, means for raising and turning said turn-table, means for positioning the package, means for holding the package down when desired, and means for handling the tying machine into and out of tying position. The whole is mounted upon a suitable stand or frame work, l,l which has a fiat table-like top l0.

The turn-table 2 is circular, and fits with'- in an opening l2 in the table top l0, so that it may lie flush with this. It is carried upon a vertical shaft 20, which is journaled in a bearing or bearings 11, so that it may turn and also be vertically reciprocated. This is raised through the action of a lever 3, pivoted at 80, and acting upon a pin 2l or other member carried by the shaft 20. The lever 3 is preferably made in two parts consisting of an end piece 3l secured by pins 82 and 33 upon the lever'. rlhese two pins, passing through complemental holes in the lever 3 and end piece 31 maintain the end piece rigid with the lever so that it will act upon the pin 21 and be in position to operate the turn-table. If it is desired that the turntable be inoperative, one of these pins may be removed, thereby allowing the piece 31 to swing down out of engagement with the pin 21, whereby the lever- 3 may be used for a purpose to be described hereafter.

Supported upon the stand frame is a circular trackway 4, of which the track surface is composed, of inclined edges terminating in abutment or stop surfaces 4Q. The turn-table carries shaft hangers 22,'in which are shafts 23, upon which are carryingwheels 24, which run upon the trackway 4, and also rollers 25 which atthe time of raising of the turn-table coact with the curved surface of arm 13 to give the turn-table an initial turning move- Y ment, after which the incline of the trackto be engaged by the ing lever 65.

way will maintain the movement until rollers 24 engage the abutments 40.

VThe roller contacting surface'of the arm 13 is positioned to not interfere with the passsage of the rollers when resting upon the lower end of the inclined trackway surface, and to engage the rollers when they are raised. The acting face of arm 13 is curved in the direction of turning `of the turn-table, so that as the roller 25 moves upward it will give the turn-table an; initial turning movement. A

The upward swing of the turn-table, raising lever3, is imparted thereto from a treadle lever which is pivoted at and at 53, 'and connected by link 54 with lever 3. Any other suitableoperating means may be employed.

I have provided automatically acting means, illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, whereby the box is positionedr in a standard position. This employs an arm ing a sharpened tooth or point'60, adapted to be projected through aslot 14 in the table, engageV the box, and draw it back to a standard position determined by the length of the slot 15. A pivot and guide pin 62, carried bythe other end ofthe arm, slides in a slot 15 in a plate 16 depending from the table top, or otherwise carried by the frame.

A bell crank lever 65,.pivoted at66, carries a roller 67, positioned to engage the under side of the lever or finger 6'.r It extends bevond this roller and between two pins 63 and 64 carried by linger 6. `Finger 6 has a camlike raise 671l on its vunder side, positioned roller '67, to cause Athe oint carrying end 6() Vto be sharply raised This lever willftl'ien engage pin 63 to draw linger 6 back, bringingwith it the box B. The latter part of the swing of lever 65 will lower the point carrying end of finger 6 away from the box. The backward swing of lever 65 will engage the pin 64 to return the feed ngei 6, without lifting the feed is then held stationary point above thetable surface. The lever is actuated from the foot treadle through a link 34, which is pivoted upon the lever 3.

' The bell crank lever 65 is actuated through a link 34, connected at one end with lever 3, and by its other endwithfthe lever 65, by means of'a pin 35 carried by the link and ocleupyinga lslot in' one arm of the bell crank lever. This slot is of an elbow shape, having an upper and inner section v68, with sides substantially at right angles to the Aaxis of link 34, and a section 69 which swings into substantial alignment with said link. Inconsequence lever 65 is swung sharply at the first downward movement of the treadle, and during the remainder i of the movement. A spring 57, or an equivaor iinger 6 havfrom the outer end of arm 6, as

lent, returns all levers to their position of rest as soon as the treadlev is freed.

The wire binding machine A, must be applied to each box, and removed therefrom. As it weighs considerable, I have devise means whereby this may be done with little effort. To do this I provide a supporting arm having a wide range 'of horizontal extension, and vertically moveable throughout sufficient range to meet the needs,

This arm 3 is illustrated as a lazy tongs pivoted by one ofthecentral set of pivots 80, so that it may swing vertically, and when extended or contracted it will not, by this alone, affect the plane of the tying machine'. 7

To support this arm, and to counterbalance the weight of the tying machine, I provideV a crane arm 81, having pulleys 82' and y83,over which'passes a cable 84 connecting, by 4Vone end, with arm 8, and carrying a counterbalancing weight 85 at its other end. Pulley 82 may be made adjustable in position along arm 81, if desired.

The tying machine A is flexibly suspended Y by two short cables 9,' anda cross bar 90. Tli'eaiin 8 should be counterbalanced, soV that it is either neutral orhas a slight lifting tendency, so that when raised it will stay raised. The flexible suspension will permit lateral movements to secure exact positioning of the tying machine upon thebox. By such methods of support, the application'of the machine to the box, and its removal, may be done without much effort, and very quickly. t

I have provided a holder 95 for the band material 96, where these may be conveniently reached as desired. y

To regulate the height of the crane arm 81, I yhave mounted it to vertically slide on posts or guides, as rods 86, under the action of the threaded rod 87, which is turned from a crank 88, shaft 89,' and bevel gears 91, or equivalent mechanism. Adjustment may thus be quickly made for boxes of diiferent heights.

l In certain cases, `it may be desirable to position a box upon the table l0 so that a single tie, comprising a wire or band, may bey placed about the center of the box, V box has therefore to overhang heavily. In

Vsuch a ease the use ofthe turntable is not needed'and a pin 32 or' 33 is removed from the lever 3 and end piece 31, whiehremoves 'the piece 31 from position to contact with the pin 21, thereby rendering the vturntable inoperative. Where the single tie is used and they box overhangs heavily,

erator is applying the band. Such an arm is shown as consisting 'of a tubularfelbow'?, a vertical extension section 7 0, and ahorizontal extension 71, the latter carrying a foot 7 2, adapted to engage the box top. A downward an d the ies a a holding arm is needed A to maintain the box in positi on while the op- 1 member carried by the turn-table extension 73 of bar 7 O slides in a guide 74, and is connected by a link 75 to a pivot pin 76, which, as shown,

of the two links 77 and 78, these being secured by their other ends to separated points of the lever 3. These links constitute, in eli'ect, a lateral arm of the lever 3. When the foot treadle 5 is depressed, the foot 72 immediately moves into contact with the box B to hold it in the overhanging position whereby the central tie may be made. If, for any reason, it is desired to remove the operators foot from the treadle bar 5 and still hold the foot 72 down in position, a locking bar 55 pivoted at one end to the treadle 5 and having a notch at its other end engaging the edge of a plate 56, may be provided. The foot 72 may be released by raising the bar to free the plate 56.

The feed linger 6 continues to operate, but due to the fact that the boX is positioned well forward of the linger, it does not engage the box, but operates idly.

In the event the hold-down foot is not needed, as when the turntable is in operation for the end ties of the box, the foot 72 can be rendered inoperative by swinging it to one side, so that it will not contact with the boX. The extension 71, elbow 7, and foot 72 may be swung back relative to the bar 70, out of the way. If the foot 72 is used, the turntable is not used, and vice versa.

Vhat I claim as my invention is:

l. A package handling table comprising a package holding turn-table mounted for vertical movement, a circular cam track and wheels carried by the table and running upon said cam track, means for raising said turntable at will, tappets carried by the turntable, and springs having curved surfaces engaged by said tappets as the turn-table is raised to thereby impart an initial turning movement to the turn-table.

2. A package handling apparatus comprising a turn-table mounted for vertical reci rocation, supporting wheels for the turntable, a circular inclined track for said wheels having wheel engaging abutments holding the turn-table in definite positions, tappet rollers carried by the turn-table to occupy a path which does not interfere with that of the supporting rollers, and a curved segment track positioned to engage said tappet roller to initiate the turning movement of the turntable when the turn-table is raised, and means for raising the turn-table when desired.

3. A package handling apparatus comprising a turn-table mounted for vertical reciprocation, supporting wheels for the turntable, a circular inclined track for said wheels, having vertical offsets serving as stops to hold the turn-table against turning,

`means for raising said turn-table above said oiisets, and a curved guideway engaging a when the also connects the upper ends A latter is raised to therebystart the turning' movement of theturn-table.

LA package handling apparatus comprising a turn-table, means for raising the turn-table at will, supporting wheels carried by the turn-table, a circular inclined trackway for said wheels, having upwardly 'eX- tending abutmentsY serving as stopsv for the carrying wheels, tappet wheels carried by the turn-table outside of the said trackway, a spring arm having an end curving yover in the direction ofturning of the Vturn-table, said curve being positioned to be engage-d by the tappet wheels when the turn-table is raised, to thereby give the turn-table an initial turning movement.

5. In a machine for supporting and turning packages for applying bands thereto, a package supporting turn-table, means for turning said turn-table, Vand a package adj usting arm, operable by said means for turning the turn-table to move the package to a position upon the turn-table convenient forl the application of the band.

6. In a device as in claim 5, an operating lever, operating means connecting said lever with the turn-table to turn it to have an inoperative period at the beginning of its movement, and means connecting the same operating lever with the package adjusting arm to have an inoperative period coinciding in time with the operating period of the turntable turning mechanism.

7. In a machine for supporting and turning packages for package supporting turn-table, means for turning said turn-table, and a package adjusting arm for moving a package upon the turn-table lengthwise.

8. In a machine for supporting and turning packages for applying bands thereto, a package supporting turn-table, means for turning said turn-table, a package adjusting arm, and means connected with said adjusting arm, and associated and respect to said turning means-to move a package upon the turn-table lengthwise prior to the turning of said turn-table. .v

9. In a machine for supporting and turning packages for package supporting turn-table, an operating lever adapted to raise said turn-table and having an inoperable period at the beginning of its movement, a `package adjustingV arm operable by the actuation of said lever to contact and move the package to a position upon the turn-table convenient for the application ofthe band, said package adjusting arm disposed and arranged to be released from said package table. y

l0. In a machine for supporting and turning packages for applying bands thereto, a package supporting turn-table, an operating lever, the operative connection of said lever? applying bands thereto, a

arranged with i applying bands thereto, a;

upon raising of the turni with the vturn-table having an inoperative period at the beginning of the movement of the lever, apaekage adjusting arm pivotally mounted for transverse movement, a second l 5 lever interposed between said operating lever and adjusting arm and adapted through movement of the operating lever to Vengage the adjusting arm with the package to move it, andhaving an inoperative period coincid- '10 ing in time With the operating period of the turn-table turning device. f

Signed at Seattle, county of King, and State of Washington.

VINCENT TENUTA.

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